wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “user content”
wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →
For “user content”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 4 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.
wp.org search ranks on
Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.
We add
A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content shows at wp.org #14 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 100K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.1★ average from 938 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
User Menus – Nav Menu Visibility places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 1281 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #1 2 
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 
User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288)
wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238)
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #6 7 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #7 8 User Menus – Nav Menu Visibility 80K+ · 5.0★ (1281)
wp.org #15 ↓5 7 too low 9 
Stop User Enumeration 60K+ · 4.9★ (132)
wp.org #10 ↑6 1 too low 10 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #12 2 too low 11 
WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ · 4.7★ (350) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 2 too high 12 
User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↑7 4 too high 13 
Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575)
wp.org #17 4 too low 14 
WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138)
wp.org #22 ↓4 8 too low 15 
Login as User: See the Site as Any User 30K+ · 4.8★ (41)
wp.org #11 ↑6 4 too high 16 
User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913)
wp.org #24 ↓4 8 too low 17 
Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #18 ↓10 1 too low 18 
One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41)
wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too high 19 
New User Approve 20K+ · 4.3★ (131)
wp.org #16 ↑5 3 too high 20 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #20 ↑2 21 
User Access Manager 10K+ · 4.4★ (112)
wp.org #21 ↓2 22 
Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70)
wp.org #23 1 too low 23 ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too high 24 
Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↓8 5 too high Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.